After watching their defense get shredded by sophomore undrafted free agent Case Keenum and the Houston Texans, the Indianapolis Colts (6-2) lick their wounds and head back home with a narrow win. In some ways the St. Louis Rams (3-6) seem just what Indy needs but this could also very well prove a continuation of the nightmare Chuck Pagano‘s squad endured for the first three quarters Sunday night. St. Louis’ ferocious front-seven has given the Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans everything they could handle in narrow losses over the past couple weeks.

Colts fans entered their bye week grinning ear-to-ear after knocking off the undefeated Denver Broncos in Week 7. A rude awakening sat on the other side in the form of Keenum and Andre Johnson, as the duo notched three touchdowns and nearly 200 yards in the first half alone in Week 9. The pair obliterated a Colts secondary that for the most part had played incredibly well in dueling Peyton Manning. This defense has the personnel to effectively man receivers and get after the passer with Robert Mathis but major questions in stopping the run, so when the former is letting them down Pagano’s unit is in trouble.

Kellen Clemens‘ play dragged St. Louis down in the Monday nighter against Seattle, but put the Rams in much better position to win today against Tennessee. Clemens’ 210 yards and a score didn’t light the world on fire; they do serve as a nice complement when Zac Stacy tops 120 yards rushing for a second straight game. Just imagine how much better off Sam Bradford would have been benefiting from the current state of St. Louis’ ground attack.

Key Matchup: Robert Quinn and Chris Long vs. Colts offensive line

The Colts’ offensive line truly embarrassed itself on Sunday night, allowing free rushers into the backfield including JJ Watt. Just unacceptable for a squad with Super Bowl aspirations. Quinn and Long both feast on struggling offensive lines — as evidenced by their three sacks apiece Week 8 against Seattle — and certainly took note of Houston harassing Andrew Luck into just six completions on his first 20 attempts Sunday night. Losing trusted blitz outlet Reggie Wayne doesn’t help either.

Thomas Emerick is a Senior Writer for RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ThomasEmerick, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google